Chapter One: Transcending Time

Shen Yi slowly regained consciousness, only to find himself in an unfamiliar place. All around him were lush, towering trees that blocked out the sky and sun, letting only dappled rays filter through the dense canopy. He happened to spot a monkey straddling a branch, its head cocked as it gazed at him with unabashed curiosity. Man and beast stared at each other for nearly ten minutes before the monkey, apparently bored, bounded away through the branches and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Panic surged in Shen Yi’s heart as he wondered, “Where am I? Why does this place feel like an uninhabited, primeval forest? I distinctly remember playing games at home, dozing off, and then, somehow, waking up here?” A true shut-in by nature, Shen Yi rarely ventured outdoors, and this sudden, inexplicable upheaval left him utterly at a loss, his mind blank with confusion.

After a long moment, he decided to get up and explore. Rising slowly, he brushed the dust from his clothes, picked a random direction, and started into the forest’s depths. But he soon realized things were amiss: the place felt like a natural labyrinth, with no sign of an exit. Strange, nameless plants crowded all sides, their leaves edged like blades. Before long, several thin cuts marked his skin. He thought ruefully, “If I keep wandering, I’ll probably die here before I ever find a way out.”

Helplessly, Shen Yi stopped and surveyed his surroundings, spotting a not-so-thick tree with bark and ridges that formed what looked like a natural ladder. He managed a bitter laugh. “A tree this considerate—if I don’t climb you, I’d be letting down your ‘efforts.’”

With considerable effort, Shen Yi finally clambered up the tree and gazed into the distance. The sight turned his face deathly pale. An endless expanse of forest stretched before him, merging into the horizon, nothing but trees as far as the eye could see—no hope of escape in any direction. Despairing, he suddenly spotted a flock of tiny black dots flying toward him from the sky. As he watched, about to descend, those dots drew near, and to his shock, they were not birds, but a whole group of people riding swords, soaring through the air! The sight nearly made him fall from the tree in fright. Flustered, he scrambled down, and by the time his feet touched the ground, he was drenched in cold sweat. Only after a long while did Shen Yi come to himself, realizing he had crossed into another world entirely.

When his legs finally stopped trembling, Shen Yi cautiously climbed the strange tree again. By then, the sword-riding figures were already gone. He could not help but regret, “What a missed opportunity! I should have called for help—maybe they could have gotten me out of this deadly forest.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, a lone wolf was bemoaning its misfortune. Strong of limb and sharp of tooth and claw, the wolf prided itself not on brute force, but on its mastery of magic. Never once had it worried about food—until today, when not a single small animal could be found despite hours of searching. In confusion, it wondered, “Strange, I don’t recall any powerful magical beasts in this area. Where have all those adorable critters gone? I’m so hungry—I’d love some juicy meat right now!”

Just then, the wolf caught a faint whiff of blood and its eyes gleamed. “Heaven has not forsaken this wolf! Looks like I’ll have dinner tonight!” Five minutes later, the wolf arrived beneath Shen Yi’s tree, eyeing the human perched above with disdain: “What on earth is this? A giant, hairless monkey?”

Shen Yi was just about to descend when he looked down and saw a massive wolf standing below, staring hungrily at him. Panic flooded his mind: “Oh no, I’m done for!” That was his last conscious thought before, feeling a chill in his trousers and a tilt of his head, he fainted dead away from fright.

At that moment, a cold, synthetic voice sounded: “Ding: Host in danger, system activating.” But immediately after, another message: “Hmm! Host has fainted, preparing to shut down system in 5, 4, 3, 2…”

As if teetering on the edge of life and death, Shen Yi suddenly snapped awake and shouted, “I think I can still save myself!” The abrupt shout so startled the wolf, which was halfway up the tree, that it nearly lost its footing and fell. Infuriated, the wolf thought, “What’s with this hairless monkey? How is it still moving after fainting? Try scaring me again and I’ll blast you with a magic missile!”

“Ding: ‘I don’t want your opinion—I want mine.’”

Reeling from the cascade of events, Shen Yi hurriedly asked in his mind, “So what do you think I should do about this big wolf?”

“Ding: ‘Given the current emergency, summoning ten units at random from the human, protoss, and zerg races: one Marine, one Zergling, one Zealot, all level one. Summon?’”

Shen Yi’s heart leapt. He answered eagerly in his mind, “Yes!” In an instant, the air shimmered with strange energy, and on the ground, light flashed as five Zerglings, three Marines, and two Zealots appeared out of thin air. Delighted, Shen Yi shouted at the top of his lungs, “Kill that wolf for me!” Looking for all the world like a toy poodle barking from behind its owner.

Obeying the command, the Marines instantly raised their rifles and took aim at the unsuspecting wolf, which was creeping ever closer to Shen Yi. A sharp gunshot rang through the forest. The wolf felt a tremendous blow to the back of its head, everything went black, and it collapsed lifelessly beneath the tree.

Looking at the wolf’s corpse with a bullet hole in its skull, Shen Yi was flooded with relief, followed immediately by wild elation: “I knew it! No way a transmigrator like me would be left without some benefit. Ha!” His legs still shaking—whether from fear or excitement, he couldn’t tell—he descended the tree, tottering over to his summoned units with a beaming smile. “Gentlemen, what should I call you? Have you eaten? Are you hungry? If you need anything, just say the word—there’s nothing I can’t do! Even if I can’t yet, I’ll learn, I promise you’ll be satisfied!”

At this moment, the electronic voice sounded again in his head: “Ding: Host need not concern himself; summoned units obey only your commands. You are their supreme commander.” Relieved, Shen Yi began to examine his “subordinates.” The Zerglings were swift and muscular, claws hinting at lethal speed and power; the Marines wore powered armor straight out of a sci-fi film, wielding imposing guns; the Zealots resembled armored humans, their arms wreathed in energy blades—just like the basic units from his favorite real-time strategy game. Excitement welled up in Shen Yi; he felt as if he’d glimpsed hope for rising in this world.

“Ding: As host has successfully activated the system, simply think ‘panel’ to view your current status and missions.” Shen Yi rubbed his nose, thinking, “Well, since you just saved me, I’ll let your odd way of speaking slide.” He silently thought “panel,” and a translucent blue interface appeared before his eyes.

Shen Yi: All four primary stats below 1, not displayed for now
Crystals: 0
Vespene: 0
Mission: Acquire 1,000 crystals to unlock human base authority

Finishing the panel, he hastily asked, “How do I get crystals?”

“Ding: As there are currently no SCVs, host may gather resources manually. For example, touch the wolf carcass beside you to obtain crystals.”

“Alright then.” Shen Yi responded, a bit helpless, and cautiously approached the wolf’s body. Though the wolf was dead, he’d never seen one so massive and couldn’t help but feel nervous. Trembling, he reached out and touched its tail. Instantly, a display appeared before his eyes: “Ten crystals. Collect?” Shen Yi quickly thought “Collect,” and the wolf’s body vanished, while his crystal count rose to ten. He was pleased: “Seems it’s not that hard to get crystals after all.” But glancing at his ten summoned soldiers, and recalling the sword-flying people he’d seen earlier, he felt a strange sense of incongruity, as though something was off.

After pondering fruitlessly, Shen Yi gave up worrying. “I’m here now, might as well make the best of it.” Having played plenty of real-time strategy games, he was familiar with unit abilities. He immediately ordered the five Zerglings and two Zealots to hunt in the forest, keeping the three Marines nearby for protection.

In another corner of the forest, a giant python twenty meters long had just killed a wild boar with its venom and was about to feast. Suddenly, a Zealot leapt down from the trees, energy blades flashing as he attacked with lightning speed. The python sensed danger too late; though it lashed its tail at the Zealot, the latter’s energy shield absorbed the blow with ease. In the same instant, the Zealot’s blades sliced through the snake’s neck. He quickly dragged the carcass away, vanishing into the forest.

Elsewhere, the five Zerglings were besieging a rhino. The rhino’s blue magical shield shimmered as it conjured ice blades to slash at the attackers, but the Zerglings’ speed enabled them to dodge every strike. One Zergling kept the rhino occupied, while the other four relentlessly assaulted the shield with claws and teeth. Under their onslaught, the blue barrier thinned rapidly. The rhino was vexed: “Where did these monsters come from? I’ve never seen their like before! They’re fast, hit hard, and their hides look tough, too.”

When the shield finally shattered, one Zergling sprang onto the rhino’s back, its claws digging deep into flesh. Another seized the chance to bite through the rhino’s windpipe. The poor beast died without ever understanding how it could have fallen to these “beasts” that didn’t even know magic, its wide eyes staring blankly as it crashed to the ground.

While his units hunted, Shen Yi, protected by his three Marines, pondered his situation. The strangeness of the world and the mysterious system left the eighteen-year-old overwhelmed and uncertain of his future.

Thus the tense, uneasy hours slipped by until night fell. Every time the Zealots or Zerglings caught prey, they would drag the carcasses to Shen Yi for him to absorb the crystals. It soon became clear to him that the creatures inhabiting this forest were bizarre beyond belief, their forms so outlandish he wondered if the area had once been struck by nuclear fallout. At dinner, Shen Yi had the Marines start a fire, roasting a rabbit-like creature to stave off hunger. Meanwhile, his Zealots and Zerglings kept bringing back all manner of beastly corpses for him to harvest.

“Ding: One of your Zerglings has died. Host may use the shared vision feature in the panel to view the situation through your units’ eyes.”

Alarmed, Shen Yi quickly activated shared vision. On the interface, the markers for the five Zerglings now showed one grayed out, “5 has become 4”—confirmation of the loss. He checked the perspective of a surviving Zergling and saw a black panther not far off, snarling at them. Three other Zerglings stood nearby, and the corpse of the fallen one lay split in two. Shen Yi wondered, “Zerglings may be the weakest Zerg units, but they’re still mainline cannon fodder—how could one die so easily?”

The panther, unwilling to continue the standoff, suddenly opened its maw and unleashed a blade of wind that shot toward the Zerglings. They dodged, but the wind blade was too swift—a second Zergling was cleaved in half, its corrosive green blood hissing as it hit the ground. Shen Yi was horrified: “How can I fight against that?” He immediately ordered the remaining Zerglings to retreat. They didn’t hesitate, fleeing into the woods at full speed. The panther, seeing this, didn’t pursue—standing over the corpse, it eyed the still-smoking ground and the strange body, muttering, “Can I even eat this? My stomach probably isn’t up for it, semida!”

Chastened by the loss, Shen Yi grew extra cautious. He realized his ten units were all he had—without a base, there would be no reinforcements. The earlier scene made him fear that even the Zealot’s shield might not withstand the panther’s wind blades.

Thus, Shen Yi led his troops through the perilous forest, ever on guard, gathering crystals wherever he could. Days passed, and when the panel finally showed “Crystals: 1500,” he was ecstatic. The prompt sounded: “Mission complete. Human base can now be deployed on any flat ground.” With no time or ability to search for a better spot, he placed the base right in front of him. Reality warped, and a massive steel structure materialized out of thin air, radiating a heavy mechanical aura. Swallowing hard, Shen Yi fixed his gaze on the imposing building.

“Ding: Human base deployed. Host, please enter the base to review its functions.”